Skift30 recognizes the top 30 movers and shakers in the online travel sector. These are the executives shaping investment, acquisitions, trends and innovation in the online travel industry. See the full list »

Share This

Giorgos Zacharia

KAYAK’s TV commercials tout the travel search engine’s ease of use. Chief Technology Officer Giorgos Zacharia wants to make KAYAK even more user-friendly. The search engine already offers side-by-side comparisons between Expedia, Travelocity, hotel corporate sites and KAYAK itself. And KAYAK has also launched MyTrips, a trip planning/itinerary management tool which users can sync with their phone or share with friends. Zacharia states, “We believe user experience is key to the experience of any meta site and, of course the completeness of your content… It’s all down to constant improvement and experimentation.”

Other improvements made on Zacharia’s watch include an airfare price forecast option, a review verification process and KAYAK Mix, which actively searches for lower fares by using different airlines for different legs of a journey. Zacharia was named CTO in January 2014, having previously served as KAYAK’s Chief Product Officer and Chief Scientist. He holds four degrees from MIT, including a PhD.